Fleet selection for earthmoving operations using queueing method

Abstract

This research concentrates on presenting a methodology for equipment fleet selection for earthmoving operations. The methodology is incorporated in a developed computer module " FLSELECTOR ", Fleet SELECTOR, capable of assisting the users in making management decisions required for earthmoving operations, such as determining the size and number of trucks and excavators, haul road lengths and surface conditions, etc.... These decisions are based on the calculated output for all feasible fleets. Mathematical solutions of queuing models that apply to excavation work were derived and coded using commercially available tools, Microsoft Excel 2000 and Visual Basic for Application (VBA), a subset of the popular application development language, Visual Basic. Two case studies, an actual project and a hypothetical case, are presented in order to illustrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed model with a comparison of the results with deterministic and simulation methods.